1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to selecting a camera to be used to generate a virtual viewpoint video from images shot by a plurality of cameras.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-088247, a system for shooting the same scene by a plurality of cameras and expressing a video (free viewpoint image) viewed from moving virtual viewpoints is discussed. The simplest method for realizing such a system is to install a plurality of cameras and continuously reproducing a video by switching the videos of each camera. In such an image reproduction apparatus, different brightness and tints between the cameras are adjusted to reproduce a smooth video.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-217243 discusses image processing for enhancing the continuity of video by using not only a video shot by a real camera but also using a virtual viewpoint video generated by assuming a virtual camera between cameras.